Giannis Antetokounmpo is restrained by Bucks teammate Tony Snell after he was called for his sixth foul, and then was assessed a technical foul for arguing the call against the Nuggets on Sunday night. David Zalubowski, Associated Press

Jabari Parker can't believe a foul wasn't called on his potential game-tying three-pointer in overtime as Bucks teammate John Henson consoles him Sunday night in a tough loss to the Nuggets. David Zalubowski, Associated Press

Bucks forward Khris Middleton steps between guard Eric Bledsoe and referee Tony Brothers after Bledsoe was called for a foul in the second quarter against the Nuggets on Sunday night. Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Spor

Bucks interim coach Joe Prunty holds back guard Jason Terry after he was called for a foul against Jamal Murray that sent the Nuggets guard to the line for three game-tying free throws late in regulation Sunday night. David Zalubowski, Associated Press

DENVER - This April Fool's Day game was all about huge, inexplicable comebacks and momentous swings with the margin of each quarter being 12 points or more, one way or the other. And just when it looked like the Milwaukee Bucks had the game in hand, the joke was on us.

When all the twists and turns were done, the Denver Nuggets emerged with a 128-125 overtime victory at the Pepsi Center in one of the wilder games you'll see.

The Bucks, who led by as many as 18 with 7 1/2 minutes remaining, let the Nuggets get back into the game but were on the way to escaping with their first win in Denver since 2010. With 4.1 seconds left, Milwaukee owned a three-point lead and just needed to inbound the ball, get fouled and make a free throw to seal the win.

Straightforward, but not exactly simple.

Khris Middleton's inbound pass, which was thrown in the backcourt away from the Bucks' basket and intended for Jason Terry, was picked off by Nuggets guard Jamal Murray. Murray then quickly fired up an off-balance, leg-flailing three-pointer that bricked off the iron and seemed to end the game.

"They plainly said it was a foul on the arm," Bucks coach Joe Prunty said. "I asked the question, they said it, they reviewed it, so the review clearly states it was a foul on the arm. I did think (Murray) kicked his legs out.”

Murray made all three free throws to tie it with 2.8 seconds left. Bucks point guard Eric Bledsoe then stepped out of the bounds on the ensuing play and the Nuggets' Nikola Jokic missed a shot to bring on overtime.

“We’ve run this play before and we’ve run other plays like that to get it in," Prunty said. "What we know is … we don’t want it going towards their basket. That’s one of the big things with the turnover. Don’t want to put them on the line for three free throws. ...

“Obviously we need to be able to inbound the ball at the end of the game. Tough play and we don’t want to commit the foul. But again, a lot of plays were made down the stretch. I’ve got to take a little bit of responsibility for what we’ve talked about in regards to inbounding the ball."

Denver got out to a five-point lead in overtime and never trailed, but they didn't put the Bucks away, either. The Bucks fell behind by as many as seven in overtime but had a chance at a tie when, with 2.9 seconds left, Jabari Parker pump-faked and tried to draw contact on a three-pointer but didn't get the call and the resulting shot wasn't close.

Parker led the Bucks with 35 points and 10 rebounds and Bledsoe finished with 31 points. Jokic carried the Nuggets with 35 points and 13 rebounds while Murray finished with 27 points and Paul Millsap added 25 points and 13 rebounds.

“It’s tough because that was a difficult call that they called," Parker said of trying to regroup in overtime. "We shouldn’t have gotten ourselves in that position. It was just hard to carry that momentum over because it was with them.”

It also didn't help that the Bucks were without all-star Giannis Antetokounmpo, who exited the game in a blaze of abject frustration late in the fourth quarter.

Carrying five fouls, Antetokounmpo subbed in with 3 minutes, 53 seconds left and the Bucks trying to cling to a 10-point lead. Ten seconds later he fouled out, called for an offensive foul while spinning against Jokic.

Antetokounmpo was furious with the call and charged at the official after learning the reason for the whistle. He had made the basket on the play and it was possible the whistle had been for a foul on Jokic that would have given Antetokounmpo an and-one. For his actions, Antetokounmpo was given a single technical foul, had to be restrained by Middleton and was ejected — without receiving a second technical.

“What they told me was (Antetokounmpo) waved at (Jokic)," Prunty said, before continuing with a detectable combination of sarcasm and frustration in his voice. "So, that’s the lesson. I have things that I have to teach these guys and one being obviously don’t wave. That’s what they told me. I’ve got to teach our guys that.”

Antetokounmpo, declined comment after the game, finished with 18 points, 12 rebounds and six assists.

“We’ve just got to hold it down for him," Parker said. "A lot of times guys got to step up because that’s what a team does, just carry each other.”

Foul calls were a frustrating element of the entire game for the Bucks as Denver took 46 free throws to Milwaukee's 27. Twenty-two of those Nuggets free throws came in the second quarter and 12 came in the fourth.

“You’ve got to be able to find a way to not foul," Prunty said. "That is a huge disparity. Again, I’ll go back to the play (Antetokounmpo fouled out). You’d like to think Giannis is at the line shooting a free throw and a made basket, but instead, he’s out of the game. … I don’t know what to tell you other than I guess we have to do a better job of keeping them off the free-throw line 46 times.”

As crazy as the end of the game was, it was just an extension of the rest of the contest. The Bucks, led by 10 points from Parker, took a 12-point margin into the second quarter before absolutely melting down.

Denver opened the second quarter on a 13-4 run before Prunty called a timeout to adjust his reserve-heavy lineup. His few changes didn't fare much better. The Bucks consistently got inside but couldn't buy a bucket, missing their next 10 field-goal attempts. Milwaukee grew even more frustrated as, at the other end, they kept getting called for fouls including one stretch of five straight Denver possessions ended in free throws.

By the time the halftime buzzer sounded, the Nuggets held a 63-54 advantage thanks to dominating the Bucks in a 41-20 quarter. Nearly half of Denver's second-quarter points came at the charity stripe where they went 20 of 22 thanks to 11 Bucks fouls, a defensive three seconds call and a technical foul assessed to a frustrated Bledsoe, who ended the Bucks' field-goal drought then chirped at the refs.

Undaunted, the Bucks bounced back in a big way in the third quarter. Bledsoe put up 14 points in the period and Parker had nine as Milwaukee dominated the quarter, 38-16.

“I think I was getting good looks," said Parker, whose 35 points in 39 minutes came one shy of tying his career high. "What helps is that my teammates help me out there and they constantly just try to keep me engaged. It’s not fun just coming off the bench and playing spot minutes, but I thank them for staying with me.”

Yet even with that stellar third quarter and an 18-point lead in the fourth, the Bucks couldn't hold on.

“I’d say just not executing, shooting difficult shots," Parker said of the fourth quarter. "On the defensive end, we were scrambling too much.”

With the loss, the Bucks squandered an opportunity to clinch a 3-1 road trip and move up in the playoff standings. Instead of moving up into a tie for sixth with the Washington Wizards, which unexpectedly lost to the Chicago Bulls on Sunday, the Bucks slipped back into a tie for seventh with the Miami Heat. Thanks to getting swept by the Heat in their season series, the Bucks are in eight with five games to go.

“We’ve got to do better," Bledsoe said when asked about closing out games. "We’ve got to do better. Point-blank. Period.”

BEHIND THE BOX SCORE

The team that runs together: During Sunday's pregame, injured Bucks point guard Malcolm Brogdon spent some extra time on the court while his teammates were still in the locker room. When the Bucks came out onto the court, Brogdon was already there doing sprints from sideline to sideline.

Parker saw Brogdon putting in work and with a big grin on his face decided to join his injured teammate, chasing him across the court multiple times. Seeing this, Antetokounmpo decided to jump in as well for a couple sprints in a show of solidarity.

UP NEXT

Teams: Milwaukee Bucks (41-36) vs. Boston Celtics (53-23).

When: 7 p.m. Tuesday.

Where: BMO Harris Bradley Center.

About the Celtics: Boston lost three rotation players in a span of a couple days in mid-March with all-star Kyrie Irving going out for three to six weeks due to a left knee procedure, Marcus Smart undergoing surgery to repair a torn tendon in his right thumb and Daniel Theis going down for the season with a torn meniscus in his left knee. The Celtics have hardly missed a beat without those three players, though, winning seven of their nine games without them including a current six-game win streak. Boston's most recent victory came over the East-leading Toronto Raptors, 110-99, Saturday.